Longing
by Erstaunlich
Summary: Wonderland was where she belonged, and that she took so long to realize it made her feel like a fool. Alice/Hatter Based on the Tim Burton movie.
1. Six Impossible Things

**Six Impossible Things**

She rose with the sun that morning, and as usual she felt the longing. Something of a melancholy that always followed her as she left her world of dreams and memories; it always felt as if she were leaving Wonderland, and in such _him_, behind. Somehow, it felt much worse this morning; the longing for that world she had left to tie up her loose ends here was almost too much for the young woman to bear.

Surely, she had done everything she needed in this world during the past five years? She declined a marriage, told her mother how she really felt, gotten psychiatric help for Aunt Imogene, and taken her late father's company farther than even he had dared to dream. Surely, that was enough to have tied up all loose ends here. It wasn't as if Lord Ascott could not run the company well enough without her; most frowned upon her partnership with him in the company anyways. Women were meant to be wives, and yet Alice dared to be part owner of a company so large and had spread it all the way to China! While astonishing, people often viewed it as scandalous, and she was sure that it would be better in the capable hands of Lord Ascott.

Her mother had long accepted Alice as the odd, but delightful girl she was, no longer lecturing her about propriety and other such tedious things. She was also quite well off without her youngest daughter's support, as she had found a man who loved her just as much as Alice's father had. Margarett's husband cleaned up his act and was now the man that said woman had always believed him to be. Her entire family was happy and in love, while she was alone and pining for things of the past.

After all she had done, it didn't seem quite fair, and as she finally rose from her bed, she fought down a rather childish tantrum. A frown was etched on to her pretty face as she went through her morning routine in an automatic fashion, the same manner in which she did most things these days, though it seemed as though nobody really noticed it. They were all far too busy with their own lives.

Alice sighed.

For the longest time she questioned her decision to return here after defeating the Jaberwocky. What would life have been like for her in Wonderland? It was likely that she'd have been on the queen's court, as she had been the one to return her to the crown. However, would she still be unwed? If not who would she have married? Would it have been the Hatter?

A light blush crossed her face at that thought. It was one that seemed to come up a lot, she knew. In fact, her thoughts always seemed to lead to one person rather than just the place. She knew that she fancied that mad man something awful, however she often repromanded herself for it. After all, there was not a single chance that he felt the same way, he often treated her as a younger sister. She had convinced herself that he would never think of her in any other way.

_I sometimes believe six impossible things before breakfast._

The thought hit her so suddenly. When was the last time she had believed in impossible things; she couldn't seem to remember an exact time. Perhaps she hadn't believed at all since her return. She decided to make a concious effort to remember what she believed.

"One," she spoke aloud to herself as she had the day she defeated the Jaberwocky, "there is a potion that can make you shrink."

"Two: there is cake that can make you grow."

She paused briefly, details of her adventure had been ebbed away in the time she had returned, and only came to her in sleep. She tried to make herself remember what came next.

"Three," she hesitated, "Animals can talk."

"Four, cats can disappear."

She felt a bit more confident now. After remembering four, the last two couldn't possibly be too difficult.

"Five, there is a place called Wonderland," she paused briefly, glancing at her reflection in a looking glass, "and number six, I am going back!"

With that, Alice rushed out of her house and to the stables. She quickly attached a sadle and harness to a horse, before jumping on and galloping to the gardens where her would be engagement party was held five years prior. She was determined to go there, and she was determined to stay. She'd never been happier than she was when she was with her friends there, and when she was with him. Wonderland was where she belonged, and that she took so long to realize it made her feel like a fool.

* * *

**Authors Note: _I saw the Movie on Friday, and I've been toying with a few ideas in my head ever since.  
I'm not sure if this is going to be the Alice in Wonderland story I stick with, or if I'll write a different one, or even if I'll write multiple. It really all depends on what you think.  
Please review._**


	2. Welcome Home

**Welcome Home**

Alice was angry, annoyed, agitated, abraded, and a number of other 'A' words that all described the way she felt at her inability to find the hole she had fallen down twice in the past. Both times she had no problem stumbling upon the entrance to Underland. The only difference between this time and the last two times was that she was searching on her own, rather than following a curious white rabbit in a waist coat. Perhaps she should have learned to be more at tentative of her surroundings all those years ago.

Tears of frustration stung at her chocolate eyes as she sat down with a huff. How she desperately wished that her rabbit friend would show up with his waist coat and clock to lead her way to the entrance. She could almost hear the obnoxious sound of it now; ticking down the seconds and reminding her friend of his constant state of tardiness. Even the wind rustling the bushes created the illusion that he was there.

Suddenly, the movement of something white in her peripheral vision caused her to turn her head, and a sudden realization of how real that ticking seemed to be. She had long ago accepted her madness, but this was a form of madness she had not often experienced. Hallucinations were things the woman only experienced when under great stress, overworked, and fatigued all at once! Surely, this was not one of those times.

She paid great attention to everything surrounding her, hoping to see Sir Nivens McTwisp so that she might follow him back to his homeland. She heard a rustle, louder than that of the wind, and she jumped to her feet running towards it. The ticking grew louder as she moved faster, and she soon caught sight of her quick little friend, waistcoat and all.

"Sir Nivens!" she called out, upon spotting him.

Just then, the white rabbit hopped off in a hurry, as though startled by the young woman tailing him. Alice scolded herself mentally; she knew from experience that he was jumpy and easily frightened and she still ran towards him and called out like that. It was a truly foolish move, but now this was becoming reminiscent of her past trips as she ran as fast as she could to keep sight of the little rabbit.

_ To Wonderland, Alice! _she cheered to herself, _You're returning to your friends; you're returning to him!_

This as her mantra, she managed to pump her legs faster, her skirt rippling in the wind behind her. Times like these made her quite glad that she was so against corsets, for if she were wearing one, she'd surely be unable to breathe by now. The rabbit was fast, and darted down the hole before Alice was close enough to try to stop him, but she knew she'd see him on the other side.

She stopped in front of the gnarled tree stump, catching her breath before lowering her legs down so that she sat. Pushing off with her hands, she began to fall down the hole as furniture and various other objects fell up. She braced herself just in time to smash through the floor, and landed on the ceiling. A moment later, she hit the checkered floor, winded from the impact.

Briefly, it crossed her mind that she'd never have to take that plunge again and she smiled.

Pushing herself to her feet once more, she took the key from the table, and took a swig of the potion that makes you shrink. She finagled herself a dress to fit her small frame from a scrap of cloth torn from her petticoat. Glancing about, she found the pastry that she could use to grow back to her former size and placed it in a make-shift pocket as to not lose it on her way through the small door that was now just her size.

The miniature woman grabbed hold of the key in one hand, and her large clothing in the other, dragging the latter behind her as she unlocked and opened the door. A wide grin found it's way to her face as she took in the sights of the place she left five years ago. Wonderland was as amazing as ever, and now she was back. She could hardly contain her excitement as she crawled into her dress, situating it in such a manner that she would grow right into it. She took only one bite of the cake. Once she was her proper size, the woman spoke to herself aloud.

"Welcome home, Alice," she whispered contentedly, "welcome home."

Now all she had to do was find her friends. It would be most logical to find the Cheshire Cat first, as he had helped her to find her way both times, and she was certain that couldn't be too terribly difficult.

* * *

**Authors Note: **_Due to the almost instant and rather large (in my mind) amount of positive reviews for the past installment, I have decided to continue this story. Though I did send all my reviewers messages personally, I would like to mention them._

_Dreaming, Nicomy43, Jamielouise, Sami1010220, lacenoel, Mad as a Hatter (anonymous reviewer), JustBFree, Waifine, short turtle, (anonymous reviewer), cherehatter, stfoosa, Heartsong's Fanfictions, , and Shadow of Darkness 22, this is dedicated to all of you!_


	3. Enter The Cheshire Cat

**Enter The Cheshire Cat**

Everything was bright and colorful, just as she well remembered, though somehow less sinister in feeling than her previous visits. Perhaps she could say it was because she had defeated the Jaberwocky, and also the Red Queen; or maybe it was simply because she was neither too big or too small this time. She couldn't really tell which was the reason, however she was certainly glad for both.

"Ches," she called out, "are you here?"

The woman made her way through the forest, merely stepping over things she would have needed to scale over years ago. She hoped desperately to find her smiling cat friend, though she knew it could be tricky as he fancied disappearing and reappearing greatly; it would be horribly difficult to navigate without some form of guidance. She cupped her hands to her mouth, hoping to amplify the sound of her voice as to reach him should he be a bit further than it could carry normally.

"It's me," she proclaimed, "It's Alice!"

A few steps later, she caught sight of a grin suspended in midair, unattached to anything or anyone. She felt a cat's tail brush against her pale cheek before she saw it fade out of invisibility and into sight, followed by a matching striped body, and the face to match the grin. Within moments, Alice was face to face with her old friend, the Cheshire Cat. Upon the realization, her face immediately tried to break into a grin matching that of the cats.

"Ches! It's been entirely too long!" she exclaimed, pulling the floating cat into her friendly embrace.

"Indeed, Alice," he purred, dissolving from her arms and reassembling himself just behind, "all of your good friends have been quite impatient with waiting."

She tried in vain to follow the cat's movements with her eyes as he vanished once more, only to come into the realm of vision where she had been looking just moments before. She could not help but be both amused and annoyed at the same instant with Ches' antics. Amused by the playfulness of the way he was treating her, but annoyed by her inability to keep track of him, even now. Sighing, she decided it was better to be entertained, and let her faltering grin slip into a small smile.

"I should apologize for my tardiness, then," she stated, not bothering to try and find the grinning animal as he disappeared once more, "could you, perhaps, lead me in the direction of Tarrant?"

The thought of those incredible lime green eyes, the quirks, both the physical and in mannerism, of the Hatter, and remembering she was so close to seeing him once more sent that feeling of longing through her body so greatly and suddenly that she could barely hide it on her face. It seemed, however, that barely hiding it was not nearly enough to conceal it from the watchful eyes of the Cheshire Cat.

"Alice has missed the Hatter," he teased her, "much more than she did any of her other friends."

Alice felt the blood rush ferociously into her pale cheeks, twinging them with red as she half-heartedly denied the accusations. She knew that she couldn't convince this cat of anything that wasn't true. He had that in common with her childhood pet, Dinah, she realized suddenly.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped," Ches sighed, unaware of the blond's previous thought about him, "follow me, dear Alice."

And follow him, she did. Though following an disappearing cat was far more difficult than one might think.

* * *

_**Ugh, It took me too long to become in the mood to write again, and I'm not even satisfied with this. I suppose it's a start at beginning again, and I should be able to do better next chapter. **_

_**Thanks to everyone who submitted a review last chapter, though it was long ago.  
**_


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